Is Probate Necessary If There is a Will?

Transcript:

Is probate necessary if there’s a will?

Usually yes, sometimes no.

Anytime somebody dies with assets in their individual name, then yes, you should probate the will to get the legal authority to collect those assets and then transfer them to the heirs and next of kin.

So for example, if own a bank account in your name or if you own a house by yourself without a wife or a joint tenant, then yes, you should probate the will to get control of those assets.

However, some people do die without anything in their name alone. Think of a life insurance policy that has a named beneficiary.

It’s possible to do that with a bank account or a brokerage account as well.

And a house can have a surviving spouse who’s also on the deed or some other joint tenant.

In those instances, probate is probably not necessary because you don’t need the court authority to take control of any of those assets.